Frozen In Time
by cuz-CM's-awesome
Summary: A high speed chase ends in tragedy. Penelope is in a coma and no one knows if she will ever wake up. The odds are against her but the team is by her side through it all.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, never have, never will and I'm not making any profit off this story. **

**Summary: A high speed chase ends in tragedy. Penelope is in a coma and no one knows if she will ever wake up. The odds are against her but the team is by her side through it all. **

**I was trying to write a Drabble for the Creative Writing prompt 'Afterlife' on Writer's Digest but came up with this instead. **

**Please R&R **

**Enjoy!**

**…**

She felt a soft breeze across her face as the sun warmed her skin. She could hear birds chirping and the whisper of the wind. It was peaceful; she couldn't remember ever feeling so content.

She opened her eyes and looked up at the blue sky overhead, with billowing white clouds creating familiar creatures.

"That one looks like a giraffe, don't you think?"

Penelope turned her head to the side to see her mom lying beside her among the tall green grass.

She looked back up the where her mom was pointing to see the cloud that indeed looked like a giraffe, with a slightly wonky neck.

"I've missed this," her mom said "It seems so long ago that we used to lie and watch the clouds."

Penelope turned to her mom again, somewhere deep inside her a rational part of her brain told her that this wasn't possible, but she paid no mind to it.

Her mom turned to look at her and flashed her a wide smile, her blue eyes sparkling.

Penelope smiled back "I've missed you."

Her mom didn't say anything just gave her a sad smile and reached out to take Penelope's hand.

"You've grown into such a beautiful woman, Penny," her mom said and gently squeezed Penelope's hand "I wish we could have stayed with you."

Penelope felt a tear roll down her face "I'm sorry Mom."

"I know Sweetheart," her mom said as she looked back up at the clouds.

They lay there for a long time watching the clouds.

"Come on Penelope," her mom said and she looked to see her mother had stood up "come run with me."

Penelope watched as her mom ran down the hill they had been laying on, her blonde hair billowing in the wind.

As she stood up to follow her mom she felt like she was a little girl again. Her feet hit the ground and she felt like she was lighter than air as she ran after her mom.

"I'll race you to the old beech tree!" her mom turned and shouted back at her.

Penelope laughed "Hey no fair, you got a head start!"

But she ran after her anyways.

They laughed as they ran and Penelope felt free as a bird.

With the considerable head start her mother reached the huge old tree ahead of her but Penelope wasn't upset, she was just happy to be there.

When she was a few feet away from the tree she felt a blinding pain through her chest and doubled over.

"Penny, what's wrong?" her mom asked and Penelope could just make out the blurry figure of her mom running towards her.

Then there was a blinding flash of light and Penelope could see nothing else.

She heard screeching tires and felt herself flying through the air.

There was excruciating pain throughout her whole body and let out a silent scream.

…

Penelope Garcia lay pale and motionless on the hospital bed in her private room.

Her head was bandaged, her face bruised, there was an IV in her right arm and she was connected to so many tubes and wires that they were hard to count.

She shouldn't have been in the vehicle. She wasn't even supposed to be on the case but there was nothing that could be done for her now. They just had to wait and pray that she would make it through.

That she would come back to them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Please R&R **

**Enjoy! **

**…**

_Derek, Emily and Reid walked into the police station and began cleaning up their workspace. The unsub had been caught just an hour before and was being transported to lock up at that moment. _

_Hotch, Rossi and JJ were still with the lead detective at the unsub's home where he had been keeping his victims. _

_They had saved three little boys and were in the process of getting them checked out and contacting their parents. _

_Derek shook his head he was glad this case was over and couldn't wait to get on the jet and go home; he was sure the rest of the team felt the same way. Especially Hotch, the boys had been close to Jack's age and the case had hit him hard. _

_"Hey, what are you doing here?" _

_As Derek heard Emily's voice he looked up and smiled. _

_Penelope was walking towards them. _

_"Hey," she said "I knew that you weren't scheduled to fly out until tomorrow since team two has the jet, so Strauss gave me some leeway to come and meet you guys. After the case you have had I wanted to be with you." _

_"And you wanted to see Hotch," Emily added with a knowing look. _

_Penelope blushed; it was no secret that the two were dating. _

_"Yeah, and that" she said. _

_"Aw and I thought you were here to see me" Derek teased pulling her to his side. _

_Penelope hit him lightly on the arm and laughed "Yeah, you wish." _

_"You know me so well," Derek said and they both laughed. _

_"Well I got the last of the files," Reid said walking over to them "we should head back to the hotel, JJ just texted me and said we should meet there." _

_"Alright," Derek said and they headed out to the parking lot. _

_Derek got his keys out and unlocked the SUV. He hopped into the front seat and Penelope got in behind him. Reid got into the passenger's seat while Emily got in beside Penelope. _

_They were only ten minutes away from the hotel when Derek's cell phone began ringing. _

_Derek picked it up "Yeah?" _

_"Morgan," they could all hear Hotch's hurried voice "Mark Daniels just escaped, he stole the police cruiser and was headed west on 3__rd__ street and Broadview." _

_"We're close to there," Reid said. _

_Morgan nodded "Got it Hotch." _

_Morgan was about to pull over and ask both Penelope and Emily to get out while he and Reid went after the guy since Penelope wasn't authorized to be in the car during the chase but at that moment the cruiser zoomed past them. _

_He didn't have time to let the passengers out or he might lose the car, so he made a split second decision "Hold on," he said and sped up. _

_He put on his sirens and swore as the cruiser made a left and headed onto an off ramp. _

_The bastard must be trying to get himself killed; either that or he was an idiot. _

_Thankfully there weren't too many cars on the freeway that day but still with every car that came at them and they had to weave around, Derek's heart beat a little faster. _

_Reid took out his cell phone "Hotch, you need to set up road blocks…" _

_Penelope barely listened to what was going on. She closed her eyes tightly as the movement of the car made her feel sick to her stomach. _

_"Fuck!" Derek swore, they had come around a corner and two tractor trailers were headed right at them. Derek swerved and just made it into the third lane, however their relief was short lived when a speeding car came crashing into them. There was nothing Derek could do. The SUV spun out of control, smashing into one of the trucks and then rolling over. _

_The last thing Derek remembered was hearing screams as the SUV flipped. _

_He woke up in the hospital a day later. _

_… _

Derek sat in a chair by Penelope's bed, he had his head in his hands and he silently prayed for his friend to wake up.

He had a cut above his head that had been stitched up; it was the only injury he had received in the accident.

He was lucky but he would change places with Penelope in a heartbeat.

He couldn't live without his Baby Girl.

He looked up as he felt someone's presence near him.

Hotch was standing just outside the door, his focus was on Penelope. He frowned, glanced at Derek for a second before turning and walking away.

Derek knew the man blamed him and he had every right to. He shouldn't have taken the chase with Penelope in the SUV.

At the time it didn't seem like he had a choice but now he would give anything to change it.

"Baby Girl," he whispered "Come back to us please."

…

"What are you going to have Baby?"

Penelope looked up at the sound of the voice; she was surprised to find herself in a bustling diner with her father sitting opposite her.

People were chatting exultantly all around them.

The sun was shining through the window beside their table, and seemed to set the place aglow. It was a bright and happy place and it seemed oh so familiar too Penelope.

Penelope stared at her dad and he smiled at her.

"So, do you know what you want?" he asked.

"I…" Penelope began; she looked down at the menu that was sitting in front of her. 'Maggie's Diner' was printed on it in big red letters and there was a waitress on roller skates on the cover.

Penelope smiled; she knew the place seemed familiar.

They used to always eat here as a family when she was younger.

Without looking through the menu she grinned and stated "I'll have the Belgium Waffle with Strawberries and Whip Cream."

Her father chuckled "I should have known that's what you'd say. You've been ordering that exact meal since the first time we came here."

Penelope shook her head "Well you're no better."

"How's that?" her dad asked playing dumb.

"Let's see…" she said scratching her chin and then repeated from memory "You're going to have the three egg vegetarian omelet with extra cheese, a piece of whole wheat toast and a side of bacon."

Her dad laughed again "You got me; I guess we're both pretty predictable huh?"

"As you used to say, the Garcia's just like what they like" Penelope stated.

Her dad smiled "That's true."

Suddenly their plates were placed in front of them before they could even order.

Penelope stared at them blankly.

"Hmm," her dad said "the service here seems faster than I remember."

Penelope looked back at him just as he was taking a bite of his toast.

"Yummy," he said "you want a bite?"

He held it out to her but Penelope found she couldn't move.

Blackness was starting to edge into her vision and pain exploded behind her eyes.

Her dad put down the toast and reached across to take her hand "I'm proud of you Penelope" she heard him say before her world went dark again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't Own. **

**Please R&R **

**Enjoy! **

**…**

Emily, her arm in a sling, walked with a limp towards Penelope's bed. She pulled up the chair that Derek had just vacated and sat down.

She tentatively took Penelope's hand in hers and gently ran her fingers over the back of her friend's hand.

Emily felt tears form behind her eyes and tried to blink them away, she was normally so strong but she just couldn't handle this.

As she watched Penelope's chest slowly rise and fall she thought about the crash and shivered.

...

_ "Uh," Emily gasped coming to, pain ripping through her body._

_ She took a moment to calm her breathing and tried to focus on what was around her._

_ She remembered the headlights of the speeding car coming towards them. The impact had been a brutal force, Emily was sure she must have whip lash._

_ She remembered the SUV rolling but it must have come to land upright at some point because she wasn't hanging upside down at the moment._

_ It seemed darker though and when Emily looked up to where she should have been able to see Morgan and Reid, all she saw was crushed metal._

_ Emily tried to move her arm but cried out; her shoulder must have popped out because her arm was hanging uselessly by her side._

_ That's when she heard a muffled moan._

_ She turned her head to the left and was horrified at what she saw._

_ When they had spun out of control, Penelope's side must have been impacted because her body was trapped under the metal of her car door._

_ Emily could just make out her face and cringed when she saw that her face seemed to be covered with blood. Emily looked up to see where the blood was coming from and her eyes met a horrific sight. It looked like a part of Penelope's skull was missing. She must have hit her head, and yet she was still conscious, or at least beginning to wake up._

_ She whimpered and Emily saw her eyes go wide with panic before she began to struggle as she tried to move but the metal holding her body wouldn't allow it which only seemed to make her panic further._

_ Emily found her voice "Pen, shh, it's going to be okay. Don't panic!"_

_ Penelope's movements stopped, she tried to move her head to look at Emily but winced in pain._

_ "Em?" her voice gurgled and Emily's heart ached for her. She didn't know what shape Morgan and Reid were in but she couldn't even imagine them being in worse shape than Penelope._

_ "I'm right here," Emily reassured her._

_ "Ah," Penelope said, her one free hand flexing in pain "I'm scared..." she whispered._

_ "Don't be scared," Emily said as she reached her unhurt arm across to unbuckle her seat belt "I'm sure they're working as quickly as they can to get us out."_

_ Emily managed to get her seat belt off, she bit her lip as she felt the pain in her shoulder intensify but she made herself move. Her leg seemed a little slow and she looked down to realize that there was a shard of glass sticking out of it. She shook her head knowing right away that she shouldn't touch it._

_ She slid across the seat and took Penelope's hand._

_ Penelope closed her eyes and squeezed Emily's hand "It's bad isn't it?"_

_ Emily knew that it was, now that she was closer she could actually see brain matter where Penelope's skull was missing._

_ "No Pen," she lied because she didn't want her friend to freak out anymore "no, you're going to be just fine."_

_ Penelope snorted "Sure," she said "That's why I can't feel most of my body, and blood is streaming down my face, oh and my head feels like someone hit me with a shovel."_

_ Emily could feel Penelope's hand trying to pull out of hers to reach up and check her head._

_ She held her hand tighter "Okay PG," she said "it's not the best but we're going to get out of here and you're going to be just fine...I promise."_

_ Penelope let out a small sob and Emily squeezed her hand tighter."_

_ "Emily? Penelope?"_

_ Emily's heart lightened some as she heard Reid's voice._

_"Reid! Reid are you okay?" Emily called hopefully. _

_"My feet are trapped under the dash but the good news is I can still wiggle my toes," Reid called back "I think my left hand is shattered though, but other than that I think I'm okay." _

_"What about Morgan?" Emily asked. _

_"He's out cold but still breathing." Reid said "What about you guys?" _

_Emily shook her head "My shoulder is dislocated and I've got a glass shard in my leg, but I'm okay." _

_There was a relieved sigh "And Penelope?" he asked. _

_"She's…" Emily began, not sure what to say. _

_"Emily is too afraid to admit that I'm dying in front of me," Penelope's said weakly. _

_Her announcement was met with silence. _

_Then Reid's voice cracked as he said "I can see the first responders, and both Hotch and Rossi are out there too, they'll get us out soon." _

_Penelope let out a sob and Emily searched her eyes. _

_"I'm sorry," Penelope said as her tears mixed with the blood on her face "It's just, he proposed…" _

_Emily's eyes widened. _

_"Last weekend, both he and Jack got down on their knees and asked me to marry them and now…" Penelope's voice was getting weaker as she spoke and her eyes were drifting closed. _

_"Penelope, hey!" Emily called "Stay with us, keep your eyes open." _

_Penelope eyes fluttered open for a second and she stared at Emily "You have to tell him…" her voice gurgled again and her eyes rolled back in her head "…I love him." _

_It was so quiet that Emily had barely heard it. _

_Then Penelope's body went limp and her hand slipped from Emily's. _

_"No!" Emily shouted "No Pen, wake up…wake up please!" _

_But there was no response. _

…

Emily jolted when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up to see Rossi staring at her.

She had been crying and quickly wiped at her tear stained face.

"Penelope's strong," Rossi said "if anyone can make it through this she can."

…

Penelope could hear loud music blaring as she stepped into a dingy hallway. She didn't see anyone around but slowly followed the sound of the music.

It led her to an open apartment door.

Penelope peered inside the door and saw a young woman sitting on the couch.

The air was musty in the apartment and the floor was littered with garbage and clothes.

A pizza box and a few bottles of beer sat on a coffee table next to an open laptop.

Penelope stepped inside, her foot landing on and empty chip bag that made a rustling sound.

The girl looked up.

Her eyes seemed foggy and her dark hair looked like it hadn't been washed in days but she smiled when she saw Penelope.

It was a menacing smile and Penelope felt a chill run down her spine.

"Hey PG," the girl said "I wondered when you were going to finally make your way back here."

"Charge," Penelope said staring at her old friend "Where is here exactly anyway?"

Charge or rather Charlie Charson raised a brow "You don't remember this place?"

Penelope sighed, that's not what she meant, she was tired of being stuck in this place wherever it was, and she wanted to be back with her friends and family.

"Is it heaven? Am I dead?" Penelope asked.

Charge shrugged "You tell me. Am I dead?"

Penelope nodded "You overdosed a year after I was recruited to work for the FBI."

"Huh," Charge said "I don't really remember much after you left."

Charge stood up, her clothes were almost falling off her and she had dark circles under her eyes. She looked around "You think this is heaven?" she asked Penelope "Some heaven it is then…" She picked up a dirty shirt that was wrinkled on the floor "A junkie and her techy friend's apartment, and this is our salvation?!" she threw her head back and yelled, dropping the shirt to the floor.

She twirled around and started laughing manically.

Penelope took a step back.

Charge stopped suddenly and stared directly at her.

She narrowed her eyes "But this wouldn't be your heaven, no. You got out of this place. You abandoned me."

"I didn't," Penelope said "I had no choice and I reached out to you afterwards, you didn't want my help."

Charge turned, she wasn't listening instead she moved to the table and dug through her bag that was sitting there. "I always knew you'd leave me PG; don't forget where you got your nickname from. Even when you were at your best you wouldn't sink to mine."

Charge turned back and held out her arm, she rolled up her sleeve and bared her arm to Penelope. The needle marks on her skin were clearly visible.

"Our innocent PG, maybe she'd have a few beers and even smoke a joint once in a while but you never gave into the needle. Tell me; why did you stay with me then, you couldn't have really liked me…I was your opposite PG."

Charge looked her up and down, she was fiddling with something behind her back "Don't worry you don't have to answer that. I already know the answer. You were trying to escape, your parents were gone and you wanted to escape the guilt. Deep down you wanted to be like me, and let yourself go but in the end you never could."

"It's okay PG, I've forgiven you for using me, but now why don't you give it a try?"

She pulled a large needle from behind her back and ran her finger over the length of it "What's stopping you now? What could you possibly loose?"

Penelope stared at the needle as its glass glinted in the light.

She shook her head.

Charge shook her head "You're always gonna be the same old PG." Then she stabbed the needle into her own arm.

"You don't know what you're missing. It's almost indescribable. Your body feels alive like it never has before. Heat pools in your veins, your heart starts to pump and soon you're in a euphoric world. Nothing can touch you. No one can hurt you."

Penelope's heart began to beat loudly inside her chest but it wasn't euphoric. Pain was erupting from every pore. Charge was no longer with her, and she was no longer in their old apartment. She was lying prone in a bed in a dark room and there was a ringing in her ears. She could feel a presence around her but could see no one there.

The beating of her heart got faster and faster until she was sure it would explode.

Her body was jolted with a painful shock and then, nothing.

**…**

**Wrote the ending of this while I was in the Dentist's office as the effects of the general anesthesia they gave me wore off. Some People act like they're high afterwards, apparently I write stories about being high. I honestly don't know where the last half of this came from but just decided to go with it. You'll have to tell me if it's any good or not. **


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